USA to Play Their First Match Since World Cup on Jan. 20 vs. Denmark in LA

CHICAGO (From USSoccer.com) – The U.S. Men’s National Team will play its first match of 2007 when they face Denmark on Saturday Jan. 20 at The Home Depot Center in Carson Calif. at 2 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and tape delayed on Univision. Fans can also follow the game live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

Tickets starting at $18 go on sale Thursday Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. PT at ussoccer.com all Southern California Ticketmaster outlets (including Macy’s Wherehouse Music and Ritmo Latino) The Home Depot Center ticket office (open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and by phone at 213-480-3232. Groups of 15 or more can purchase tickets by calling U.S. Soccer at 312-528-1290 or obtaining a group order form at ussoccer.com.

The USA-Denmark clash will serve as the launching point for what promises to be a challenging schedule in 2007 as the United States will compete in the two major championships of the Western Hemisphere. First the USA is seeking to defend its Gold Cup title when they join 11 other teams in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup which will take place from June 6-24 in several cities across the United States.

The following week the U.S. will compete in the 2007 Copa America the regional championship of South America. The 12-team tournament will run from June 26-July 15 in nine cities in Venezuela. The U.S. is competing in the biennial event for the first time since 1995 when a 3-0 defeat of defending champion Argentina and a quarterfinal victory against Mexico helped lift the USA to a fourth-place finish in Uruguay.

The U.S. and Denmark have met four times in their history with the United States still in search of their first victory after posting a 0-1-3 record. The teams’ last meeting on Jan. 18 2004 marked the first-ever visit by the U.S. MNT to The Home Depot Center. Despite out-shooting Denmark 16-4 the U.S. only collected a 1-1 draw after a pair of penalties on either side of halftime delivered each side their only goal of the match.

In spite of its size Denmark has a history of being one of the stronger and most consistent sides in Europe. The Danes impressed by reaching the Round of 16 in the 2002 FIFA World Cup emerging from group play with victories against defending champion France and Uruguay. Winners of the 1992 European Championship Denmark currently sits in second place of Group F behind Sweden in the qualifying tournament for the 2008 European Championship to be held in Austria and Switzerland.

The U.S. will make just its third visit to Carson carrying a 1-0-1 record. A Taylor Twellman hat trick led the charge in the USA’s 5-0 win against Norway on Jan. 29 2006 marking the largest margin of victory for the U.S. against a European team and tying the largest margin of victory ever against a non-CONCACAF team (5-0 vs. China on April 4 1992).

The Home Depot Center opened to rave reviews in June 2003 and has served as host to several major soccer events including the MLS All-Star game MLS Cup and several games in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup including the Third Place Match and Final. The Home Depot Center also serves as U.S. Soccer's National Training Center with all of U.S. Soccer's 13 national teams training at the facility.